Music2Grow for Big Kids (Young Child)

Young children who continue Kindermusik class into early school age will develop a greater capacity for learning and a lifelong love of music. In Kindermusik for the Young Child, your budding musician will be introduced to fundamental musical concepts, notation, and the basics of vocal development. Children explore a wide variety of musical styles and the instruments of the orchestra through group ensemble play, music, games, and stories from many cultures. These classes are a musical learning experience that set the stage for future school success and the transition into formal music lessons.

Young Child 1:
Everything your child learns later in semesters 2, 3, and 4 begins with this early introduction to singing, reading, and writing music and rhythm. Through dances and games that focus on rhythmic development, we’ll learn a keyboard instrument—the glockenspiel—which will be used throughout all the Young Child classes. Your At Home Materials provide the music, instruments, stickers, and activities for a home version of the same playful activities you’ll hear about from class, so your child—and you!—can learn where you’re most comfortable: at home.

Home Materials: Children’s Folder with stickers, games bag, and Music At Home Cards, Family Songbook, Home CD of music from class, glockenspiel, and canvas bag (during first semester).

Young Child Semester One, monthly themes:Lessons 1-4: Music is Everywhere: We live in a world of sound. As students listen, learn and explore the sounds that are all around us, they are developing important skills that can enhance all later learning.Lessons 5-8: Ready Steady Go! Musical beats can be fast or slow. They make our toes feel like tapping and our feet feel like marching. A steady beat is the underlying pulse of music and of life. Mixing up the steady beat into smaller and longer pieces give us music! We will listen to the rhythm of weather in the rain and wind and even a musical storm composed by Beethoven in his Pastoral Symphony.Lessons 9-12: The Melody of Nature: Birds sing to us with many voices and songs. Melody is the part of music that we want to sing. The language of melody starts with games about high and low. Join us for songs, imaginative play and instrument exploration, all exploring MELODY.Lessons 13-15: Glockenspiels – Pre Keyboard Skills! Musical learning for kids who are 4-6 is all about experiencing music through play and HANDS ON exploration. In this unit we use the pre-keyboard instrument called a Glockenspiel to organise and expand learning about steady beat, melody, and rhythm.

Young Child 4:
In this final semester, we’ll introduce the recorder instrument. As your child is introduced to basic methods of playing simple melodic patterns and songs on this wind instrument, we’ll also incorporate the instruments, concepts, and songs from previous semesters. With a special emphasis on multicultural music, your child will learn to improvise and write music, as well as experience the musical styles of the Pacific Islands, Europe, and Africa; plus play special dances and children’s games from around the world, including Alpine dances, Mexico, and Ecuador.

Home Materials: Children’s Folder with stickers, games bag, and Music At Home Cards, Family Songbook, Home CD of music from class, and soprano recorder.

Young Child Semester 4, monthly themes:Lessons 46-49: Aloha! Music of the Pacific Rim: The warm ocean breezes lead us to Momotarosan, a folk tale from Japan, Kapula Kane for a hula dance in Hawaii and a fishing outing with the Indonesian Boat Song. Along the way, there is an introduction to the RECORDER!Lessons 46-49: Music of the Pacific Islands: There are music makers all around the world, with their own sounds and customs. In the Pacific we explore the Momotarosan story from Japan, sing along with the Indonesian Boat Men, and do the Hula with Kapula Kane in Hawaii.Lessons 50-53: Yodelee-he-hoo! From the top of the Alps we will discover the music and traditional dances of Europe! Polka in Germany, circle games from Hungary and the maypole dance too! Meet the famous composer, Johann Sebastian Bach, and learn about keyboards of all kinds from harpsichord to synthesizer!Lessons 50-53: The Music of Europe: From yodeling in the Swiss Alps to the poems of Mother Goose, much of our great music originated in Europe. With this beautiful backdrop we will play recorders, do the dance of the May Pole and Polka, and meet the “Grandfather of Western Music” Johan Sebastian Bach.Lesson 54-57: Drumming Drumming All Around: We can learn a lot from the wonderful musical traditions of Africa! African drumming is about listening, echoing, creating and sharing. The animals of the African plains inspire stories and dances too!Lessons 54-57: The Music of Africa Musical: Story telling is how children learn music in Africa. We will learn, play musical motifs and act out the classic fable of The Lion on the Path. The music of Africa includes syncopated drumming patterns, and cooperative ensembles of many kinds.Lessons 58-60: A Musical Fiesta! In South America music is everywhere! We will hear the happy sound of a wandering Mariachi band, and the whispering pan pipes. There is a special rhythm that gives Latin music its distinctive sound – called SYNCOPATION. It is FIESTA time as we celebrate all we have learned! Ole!!Lessons 58-60: The Music of Central and South America: Who doesn’t love the Mexican Hat Dance or the classic story of Don Gato? Join us as we take a whirlwind tour of this amazing part of the world! We will explore the sounds of the Brazilian Rain Forest, the Farms of Argentina and of course enjoy our own FIESTA!!

Let it begin with Kindermusik

Music2Grow has been bringing the joy of music and learning to young families on the Sunshine Coast since 2009. Educator/Owner, Verna Hewitt, is a Maestro Kindermusik Educator and a trained Primary School Teacher (P-10) with 15 years experience in early childhood music education.

“Verna is wonderful. She makes the experience so meaningful and enjoyable to all children and parents. She engages each child for every activity while allowing them to do their own thing.” – Bernadette K.